The present invention relates to a fuel pump nozzle handle lever holding system and especially to a system utilizing a flexible material with hook and loop material attached thereto.
In the past, a wide variety of wedging or bracing devices have been utilized for latching gasoline pump nozzle levers in an actuated position so that the gas continues to flow into a vehicle fuel tank without an attendant or an operator having to hold the valve until the tank is filled. The tank nozzle typically contains a mechanism for sensing when the tank is filled by the backflow of fuel up the nozzle filling tube and to automatically shut off the valve to avoid the overflow and spilling of the fuel. Many gas pump nozzle handle lever members have a latching member hinged directly to the handle or handle guard for locking the lever in an open position. However, for those pump nozzles which do not have a blocking brace attached thereto, there are a number of U.S. patents, such as may be seen in the Opp patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,278,116; the Rehkoph patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,275,776, the Maloney patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,201,253; and the Noe patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,175,595, each of which patents show portable latches for gasoline pump nozzles for latching the pump handle valve lever in an open position. Each of these patents also has means for wedging a gasoline nozzle handle in a different stepped position to vary the flow from the nozzle. Typical of these patents is the Maloney patent for a gas pump lever blocking member having an elongated member with a first end adapted to engage the lever and a second end adapted to engage a lever guard in a plurality of positions corresponding to varying gas flow rates through the pump. An elongated member has a stepped portion at the second end defining a plurality of guard engagement surfaces lying in planes disposed along the elongation axis of the member.
In contrast to these prior art wedging devices, the present invention provides for a simple piece of flexible cloth which can be readily attached around a fuel pump nozzle handle and around the pump valve lever to hold the lever in an open position through tension applied against the flexible cloth rather than the compression from the wedging member. The use of a hook and loop material (VELCRO) allows for wide variety of adjustments for different flow rates without having to have specific stepped flow rates. In addition, the flexible cloth can be easily folded and stored in the pocket of a car but the present invention also provides for hook and loop material attached to the vehicle on the gas compartment door adjacent the filling tube opening for storing the flexible material with its own hook and loop material attached right beside the filling tube in a handy position for filling the vehicle fuel tank. The invention also contemplates the use of hook and loop material to hold the vehicle's gas cap while the vehicle is being filled with fuel.